This poor little blog is so neglected. With sewing classes, getting a post graduate degree, running the art program at Jack’s school, and my new large family, I am just so busy these days. Too busy to sew for myself.

I’ve been sewing up a ton of samples for my sewing classes though. I’m on my second sewing class this year already. The first had a Halloween theme.

The current class has a stuffed animal theme. Super cute!

The next class in January has a Valentine’s/Winter theme, but I haven’t sewn those samples yet.

My family and I are having our family portrait taken for our holiday pictures this coming weekend, so I had to whip something up real quick before I start my Thanksgiving meal preparations. I wanted something red and pick up a roll end from Joann’s last week. It was enough for a dress body, but not enough for the arms. So I had to come up with another fabric from the stash. I used New Look 6298 again; it has raglan sleeves making a contrast look easy.

I had some tan double knit in the stash, so voilá!

The only flaw of this dress is the red knit shows every bump and lump, so the back view is not all that flattering. Also, I must confess that, because I can’t help being critical of myself, I kind of botched the neckline using the coverstitch machine to sew the seam allowance down. I should have just used my sewing machine. Ugh. Oh well, at least I have long hair to cover it up. Hopefully no one looks at it too closely, or maybe they’ll be too distracted by my lumpy body they won’t even notice the neckline! Hah!

Next up is the Jammiepalooza 2016 sewing frenzy. I already bought the fabrics and pre-washed them. I just have to make two or three a week from now until Xmas. Unfortunately, I won’t be seeing most of my family who receives the pj’s this Christmas. Oh well. Will have to finish theirs first so I can get them in the mail. I do have one problem though with this year’s Jammiepalooza. I never write down which sizes I make for everyone. And I have to go through measurements and sizing and figuring it out every time. What a PITA! This year, I am going to record everything in a notebook to make sure I have it ready for next year. It’s only taken me 5 years to figure that out. Sheesh!

I hope to have pictures of Jammiepalooza 2016 for the next post.

Thanks for sticking with me through my blog’s neglect. I appreciate it!

Besides those couple of knit raglan dresses a few months ago, I haven’t really sewn for myself in almost a year. Maybe more than that. I don’t know and I don’t want to know. My wardrobe looks sorry and bedraggled, but I’m too cheap to go buy anything when I know I can sew. I can sew still, right? So it was high time I added some more clothes to the rotation.

Unfortunately, in the past year I have, ahem, rounded out a bit. So I knew I would have to make larger clothes. Slightly larger, but larger nonetheless. Also, I wanted a lot of bang for my buck. I wanted a top that was on the dressier side and in a fabric that had some drape. I had drafted a top a year or so ago based on my Cal Patch knit t-shirt draft. It has cut on cap sleeves, and an elasticized waist. In order to get the blouson effect I was going for, I had to pivot out the armhole from the shoulder seam about at inch at the bust and then straighten out the side seam down to the hem. That added the ease for a woven fabric and enough blousy-ness for the blouson look. BUT….

But I had completely forgotten how I had made that top over a year ago. I had vague recollections, but nothing concrete. I couldn’t remember any of the drafting or altering techniques I have learned over the years. [Insert whiny violins here] So what did I do? Why I called on Sherril and all my sewing friends for help, of course.

In the course of making this new top, I had a cutting error for which I had to adjust. I forgot to add the cut on sleeves, so I had to add sleeves. This had the unfortunate side effect of removing some of the ease I had added, and the sleeves are a bit snug. But let’s just call that a design feature, shall we?

Next, I needed new linen pants. My old ones were, putting it delicately, a bit obscene in their tightness. And these are wide leg pants my friends. Wide leg pants. Needless to say, I needed to add some “ease” at the side seams. But not only can I pull my pants on now, but I can also walk in public without people pointing and staring. I consider that a plus! Oh, forgot to mention the pattern is Vogue 8584. I first made these in 2011 and I still love this pattern. It’s super fast and easy to make if you leave off the pockets and cords, which I always do. Of course I know want to make view C in a silk fabric now. Hmmmm….

And so, without further ado, my new outfit…

The sheer top fabric is from the National City Swap Meet in San Diego. Can’t remember when I bought it though. The black linen is a linen/rayon blend from Joann’s. I didn’t have any black linen in the stash and I really wanted black linen pants, so I went out and bought some. Now that I’m in a new neighborhood, Joann’s is the closest store to me. Sigh. But actually, the Joann’s in Poway is pretty good and, since I buy most of the sewing class supplies and fabrics there, all the gals there know me. Oh the linen was on sale for $6/yard. So not bad. $15 pants people. $15!

Anyhoo, what am I going to make next? No clue. I’ve filled an immediate gap. That might satisfy right now. Maybe another tank dress, maybe another linen pant. We’ll see. I do have a lot planning for my sewing camp in June to do. I have to come up with at least four new projects. Especially if the same kids show up for every class. How many tote bags can one person need???

I know I’ve been a bad blogger. Leaving you for months at a time. I have realized I won’t be a full time blogger ever again really. I’m ok with that. And if you’re reading this, maybe you’re ok with it too.

The last thing I sewed for myself were a couple of dresses that I made for my NYC vacation earlier this year. I picked up the New Look 6298 pattern for a winter knit dress and made two in quick succession after getting fitting help from my LA sewing friends. This dress was a winner after fitting. I am not going to write a full on review here. No time for that. But I will mention that the sleeves are ginormous and needed a lot of alterations. I probably could have solved a lot of the fit problems by making the sleeve pattern a two piece sleeve pattern, but I loved the dart detail at the top of the sleeve and wanted to keep it. Now that all the hard work is done, I can just make this dress over and over. I also kept the back seam in as it really helped with shaping. I added more shaping as well at the side seams. Here are some pics…

At a sewing meet up in the Garment District

I was so happy to get to see Carolyn, Karen, Claudine and Janice while I was in town. So fun. Of course I saw Kashi as well.

But other than those dresses, it’s strictly been sample sewing for my adult and kid sewing classes, sewing-wise.

In non-sewing news, I was accepted into the Art Certificate program at UCSD and just finished my first paper (for Art History) in almost 20 years. I’m enjoying the classes immensely, especially the painting classes.

And this now brings me to the subject of this post, creating and failing. This is my third degree program. I’ve been around the block a few times now. I’ve had many different careers. As I’ve mentioned before, you have to have a pretty thick skin to be a musician, auditioning all the time and getting rejections or constructive feedback all the time. But you can rationalize a lot of that negativity. One does have to be brave though, facing that negative possibility every time. When I was a kid, searching for what would become my instrument, I chose something I excelled at without trying hard, singing. Guitar was too hard. Clarinet was too hard. Piano was too hard. But singing? Oh I was already good at that. So I chose voice as my instrument. Little did I know how challenging it would be to excel at it, but that’s another story.

One of the most memorable voice lessons I ever had was when I was at University of Michigan. My teacher asked me to dance around her studio as I sang. But not just dance, but dance ridiculously. I couldn’t make myself do it. I couldn’t let myself act ridiculous in front of her or my accompanist. It was not something I would risk. Eventually I did it, but it took a lot for me to overcome my fear of looking ridiculous. I realized she wanted me to loosen up, have my body concentrate on doing something else so I could free up my voice. I knew it would help me, but I couldn’t let go.

Years later, I would have my own singing students do silly dancing while they sang. And I demonstrated it to them not fearing being ridiculous at all. It takes maturity, and overcoming fear to do something silly in front of other people. It also takes practice. What if I had practiced silliness earlier in life?

That fear, I think, is the fear of failure. Maybe all fear is fear of failure. Anyway, it’s coming up a lot for me right now and, in thinking about it, I realize that it’s always been there. It was there when I started learning to sew and every time I would sew up a new pattern. And it was there, way back when, every time I went to art class in grade school. I told myself I wasn’t an artist from the very beginning. If I didn’t draw a perfectly round circle, if I couldn’t mold the clay just like I saw it in my mind, I wasn’t perfect. Ergo, I wasn’t an artist. Because an artist would be able to draw it or mold it correctly on the first try.

Remember when I wrote about being an artist? That post generated a lot of discussion. I can’t believe it is almost two years ago now since I wrote that post. So much has happened and it still feels fresh to me. Now I am fully embracing my inner artist. I am taking class after class completely devoted to art. I adore painting. Maybe as much as I love making mosaics. Am I good at it? No, not yet. I have some good days.

Painting class homework

painted while watching a youtube tutorial

painted while watching another youtube tutorial by the same teacher, Will Kemp.

But I have some pretty laughable days too.

unsuccessful landscape #1

Unsuccessful landscape #2

Why am I showing my “failures”? Well, I have always shown my sewing flops, so why not the art flops too? I feel the need to keep it real. I’m not perfect. I suck at a lot of things as most of my family would love to tell you, schadenfreude being one of our shared loves. But most importantly, if you are too afraid to fail, in public or private, two things happen: You never try and you never learn. I won’t learn how to paint abstractly if I don’t attempt to paint abstractly. I won’t ever make art if I never attempt to make art. I can’t let failure or fear of it stop me. I have to be ok with looking ridiculous. Maybe I am ridiculous. I’m ok with that.

I am always wary of people who say they like to learn from other people’s mistakes. You see, I don’t think you can. Seriously. Not the real mistakes. The living life kind of mistakes. Yes, you can learn from someone else burning themselves on the hot stove. But can you learn how to love without actually loving?

Did you know that Van Gogh didn’t start painting until he was 27? Did you know that he died at the age of 37? He painted only for 10 years. That’s it. Just 10 years. I’m rambling now, but that really inspires me. It’s never too late. Don’t be afraid of failure. It’s a teacher.

Speaking of teaching, I teach my son’s 3rd grade class art twice a month. California schools don’t have art classes with certified art teachers. They have parent volunteers, most with no art background whatsoever, come in to teach some old art program that the school district purchased years ago that they recycle every year. This is all the art instruction these kids get. Just twice a month, sometimes only once a month depending on break/holiday schedules. And they don’t even get it from a real art teacher or with an education degree. That is depressing to me. And then I hear these kids say at the ripe old age of 8 that they’re not artists. How sad is that? Every time I’m in that classroom I tell them they are artists. I tell each of them something I like about the piece they are creating that day. I tell them there are no mistakes, only design features. I tell them about Van Gogh. They’re probably sick of hearing about Van Gogh by now, but I don’t care. I want them to experience trying, and failing, and I want them to realize they can learn and that they are artists too.

Don’t worry, I’m going to wrap this up soon. I just want to leave you with one thought. I don’t expect to become famous. I don’t think I’m especially talented or like Van Gogh. I don’t even expect to make money being an artist, whatever kind of artist I am (mosaics, sewing, painting, drawing, etc). What would please me though is that when people think of me, they think of me as someone who creates and who isn’t afraid to fail.

My adult students have been enjoying the home dec projects that we have been working on in the last class which finished up a couple of weeks ago. And as I was running out of quick beginner projects, I asked if they wanted to try more involved projects like a light quilted placemat or table runner. The response was an enthusiastic yes!

So I searched up some projects on Pinterest and found one that I thought might be good. It was a downloadable pdf pattern with a video tutorial for a small fee. Besides that quilt I made for a friend and the squares quilt I made for the community center’s gala auction, I haven’t ever really done any serious quilting. So this project was a huge learning curve for me. I made 6 instead of just 4 placemats, repeating some of the patterns. I have five people in my family now and wanted to have place settings for six. Quilting cotton prints are so darn cute. I can totally see how someone can go overboard buying quilting fabric.

In working on this project the last week, I have come to the conclusion that it may be too complex and a cause for frustration for my students, but I learned a lot and will be able to help them with whatever project I do find for them. And, bonus! I get new placemats for my family!

I made it! I made it through another holiday and another Jammiepalooza. I made 13 PJs altogether including 3 nightgowns and 10 pj pants. One of those pj pants I sold to a friend after realizing that I made the wrong size for my stepdaughter. I even made a pair for me this year! Woo hoo! Of course, not all the adults were that lucky, so there were some grumblings that they didn’t have any pj pants. Sigh. You can’t make everyone happy. That would have added 5 more pj pants to my total. Maybe if I started earlier… But that’s a post for next year.

Anyhoo… Here is the photographic evidence of said Jammiepalooza 2015.

The pj’s I sold to a friend

Next up on the sewing table? Not sure, but I did just order some knit dress patterns for my stepdaughter. Also, I have to plan for my next adult sewing class which starts in a couple of weeks. I may be teaching a mosaic class this session too! AND… I’m taking a painting class at the university starting in January. I will be one busy mama.

Bis später and happy new year!

]]>http://www.sewnblog.com/jammiepalooza-2015/feed/47024http://www.sewnblog.com/jammiepalooza-2015/A tale of two legs and revenge sewinghttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Sewn/~3/BGGqMJZ1j5s/
http://www.sewnblog.com/a-tale-of-two-legs-and-revenge-sewing/#commentsMon, 30 Nov 2015 16:34:41 +0000http://www.sewnblog.com/?p=7016Did you hear the one about the seamstress who sewed two left legs? Yeah, me neither. You know why? Because it’s not funny when you sew two left legs. And this is why… Because then you only have two left legs and no more fabric. Because you remember that you bought the end of the roll when you originally bought the fabric and now you want to cry. Nope, not a laughing matter at all. So now the two left legs mock me from their crumpled pile on my sewing table as I move them around to cut out my student’s weekly projects. They mock me, I tell you.

So in my ignominious state, I decided to revenge sew. Yes, that’s right, I said revenge sew. I got out my trusty S5271 baseball tee pattern and proceeded to sew up a super cute top. How do you feel now, two left legs? Still trying to mock me? I showed you! I now have a cute top and there’s nothing you can do about it.

But let me backtrack a bit… A few weeks ago, Susan from Knitters-delight and I decided on the spur of the moment to meet up at the National City Swap Meet to see what the LA jobbers had brought. We went to my favorite stall and found some really good fabrics for a steal. There was some great Italian linen, and super cute knits. I bought two knit prints that were super stretchy and soft, and bonus, had a NYC vibe. One even said New York on it. I made out like a fabric bandit. So did Susan, I might add. We had a good old bitch session, caught up on each other’s lives, and bought lots of fabric. Sounds like a perfect day, doesn’t it? Ahhhh…

So fast forward to the two left leg debacle and you know I needed some therapy. And that’s how revenge sewing came to my rescue.

See?

Making sushi over Thanksgiving break

And that, my friends, is how you return back to the land of garment sewing after a super long hiatus. Revenge sewing. Of course, my pals Jeanette and Sherril also helped me figure out proportions for this tee. Since the fabric was super stretchy, I needed to rejigger the sizing a bit and the raglan sleeves had me a little stumped. And now the shirt is a little on the short side. Revenge’s revenge? You be the judge. I did get a few unsolicitations when I wore it though, so I think the revenge worked.

The other fabric I bought might be too similar to this print to use the same baseball tee pattern again. I might have to think up a different pattern for it.

Anyway, I highly recommend revenge sewing after a wadder. It is extremely satisfying.

Do you revenge sew? Did you get sweet satisfying revenge? Do tell!

]]>http://www.sewnblog.com/a-tale-of-two-legs-and-revenge-sewing/feed/77016http://www.sewnblog.com/a-tale-of-two-legs-and-revenge-sewing/Teaching Sewinghttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Sewn/~3/NWSZwo59khA/
http://www.sewnblog.com/teaching-sewing/#commentsThu, 05 Nov 2015 11:00:23 +0000http://www.sewnblog.com/?p=7004Since Spring this past year, I have been teaching sewing to kids and adults at my local community center. I’ve taught a total of 6 classes which includes one whole week of summer camp. I have had to source the projects, fabrics, and supplies. I have had to write instruction booklets for each class as each new class had different projects. And I have had to sew up all the samples to show the students a finished product.

It’s been quite a learning process for me as well. I’ve learned which projects are too hard for beginners. For example, really small fiddly sewing is too hard for a beginner. The shoelaces and the superhero mask were way too fiddly for my students. So I’ve taken those projects off the list of possibilities. I’ve learned that cutting the projects out for them is absolutely a must. Just learning how to use the machine is intimidating enough without fearing a badly cut out project. Even pressing is something I will do ahead of time to cut down on the kids waiting on me to help them with the next step.

My first class was unisex, but I have had difficulty coming up with simple projects that would appeal to both sexes. My last two classes have been for girls only. I have started incorporating home dec projects as well, since most garment sewing involves fitting and/or you must have the correct size cut out. So, even though I don’t opt to do home dec sewing on my own, I recognize that these kinds of projects lend themselves well to teaching sewing.

This was one of the projects I had the adult students make, a faux leather lined clutch purse. It was a huge hit with the adults. I loved making this bag; I think it’s super cute. For the next adult class which starts next week, I have five projects lined up: A table runner for Thanksgiving, a head wrap (like the one the kids are doing next), a coffee cozy, the envelope pillow (like the kids), and a wine gift bag. I think it will be a great class.

It’s a lot of work coming up with the class projects, putting together the booklets, buying and pre-washing the fabrics, AND prepping the projects for the students every week. In fact, after this session, I am taking a break from teaching sewing until at least Spring. I don’t want to get burned out.

If any of you have any ideas for easy beginner projects, I would love to hear about them. I think I’ve reached the end of the internet for new projects. I haven’t listed all the projects above that I’ve covered already, so if you’re going to suggest pillowcases, I have already done that one.

So here I am again. And this time with a pattern review and all! Woohoo! My new step-daughter, Alex, requested a kimono for her Halloween costume this year. If you’ll remember, I made her an anime costume last year. Well, we went shopping for the fabric together and she approved the pattern, Butterick 6267, and we were off to the races. Here’s the review:

Pattern Sizing: A5 (6-14). I made the size 6 and took off four inches at the shorten/lengthen line on the kimono and three inches off the length of the sleeves. Incidentally, the size 6 fit me AND Alex. Obviously it was pretty generous on her and only slightly large on me. This is not a fitted garment at all. So please take that into consideration when you choose your size. Alex is 11 and has a child’s figure still. I am busty and a much fuller figure than she is, so the fact that it fit both of us is pretty telling about how shapeless it is.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? YES! Aside from the obvious fabric print differences.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, except for one part where it instructs you to under stitch the sleeve. I wasn’t sure which part of the seam to understitch, the band or the sleeve. It was of course, the sleeve. Re: interfacing, I used Fashion Sewing Supply’s Pro Sheer Elegance on the bands and the obi and it was just the right amount of support/heft for the project.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

LIKES: Loved the design.

DISLIKES: A bit intricate to cut out and sew up, but that’s to be expected with this kind of garment. Also, the yardage that they say to buy was completely off. I had a ton left over for the obi/bands and definitely at least two yards too much for the body of the kimono. So that was a bit annoying cost and wastage wise.

Fabric used: Polyester charmeuse print and solids from Yardage Town.

Pattern changes or design changes made: As I mentioned above, I shortened the kimono by about 4 inches and the sleeves by about 3 inches. Other than that, the pattern is unchanged.

Any problems encountered while sewing this pattern? Not really. Pretty straightforward pattern if time consuming.

How long did it take you to make it really? About two solid days for cutting and interfacing, and two days for sewing.

Which sewing machine(s) did you use for construction? I used my Singer Featherweight exclusively for this make. I pinked the side seams instead of serging. In retrospect though, I should have serged them as the side seams still shredded quite a bit.

Will you sew it again or recommend it to others? I most likely will not sew it again. It’s not practical as a robe with those voluminous sleeves and it’s a pretty time consuming sewing. I don’t anticipate needing another kimono soon.

Conclusion: Great pattern for a kimono costume. Not great as a kimono robe for everyday use.

And here’s proof of the pudding…

I have some other things to post but want to put them in a post of their own. Bis später!

I’ve missed you. I have been sooooo busy since last we met. I’ve been teaching sewing classes and camps. I finished my mosaic table in the nick of time for my rehearsal dinner. Oh and I got married. And I moved. So I’m sure you can understand why I have been otherwise engaged (pun intended!).

The little boy who lives with me is getting bigger and is enjoying our new family life. We just celebrated our one month anniversary yesterday as a matter of fact.

I know, I know… I have been MIA for many months now. To be honest. my mind has been elsewhere and I have been incubating some new (non-sewing) creations. I haven’t really sewn much at all, but I have been very busy making things. Here’s a pictorial rundown of what I have made since November.

Christmas/Hanukah Jammiepalooza

I’ve taken up knitting again. It started up with a rush job to knit Jack a hat on our way to Aspen for a ski trip. I ended up making four hats from the same pattern I found on Ravelry. Here are a couple pics…

And I have already started another pair for a friend. Here’s the first sock. I’m already 3.5 inches into the second sock now.

I took a Mosaics class and made a few different projects for it.

Right now I’m working on a large scale project, a 3×6 ft mosaic patio table for my parents’ house. Here is a picture of the center medallion in progress. I hope to finish the table in the next couple of weeks.

I’ve even turned Jack on to mosaics. We made a sun catcher glass on glass mosaic for his nanny back in NYC. It’s her birthday this week.

So my big news is that I will be teaching at my local community center starting in April. I will teach a nine week sewing class to 1st – 5th graders and in June I will be teaching a sewing camp for a week. I’m very excited about teaching and am so happy that our community center is such a great place for the kids to go to after school and that they have so many great programs for the kids. I’ve already planned our projects/syllabus and can’t wait to teach!

My little sewing student that I have been teaching privately will be joining me for the class. Here are some of her latest projects:

Knit Turban headband

Matching turban headband and t-shirt for the teddy bear

Last night I made some bibs for one of the teachers at Jack’s school who is expecting his first child this week. Since he’s a science teacher and runs our Lego Robotics program, I thought space themed fabrics were a propos!

I have been so busy with my class and life that I have not been reading many sewing blogs lately. I miss you guys! I hope you are all well.